Open File Security Warning: Why?

[Lange]

I recently installed a new copy of Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit) on a friends computer.
I've done that setup already quite a lot so all went fine.
But when delivering the computer he asked to move his user files (or better, the store location) directly to a backup drive. No problem, i do this on my computer to but this time something went wrong.
After opening IE, the favorites where replaced by his whole backup directory instead of only the favorites.
No biggy, i reversed the process and everyting was good again.

But... since then openingen Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer, Outlook etc... give an Open File Security Warning.

I've looked quite a bit for solutions in here and on the net (there are quite a few options) and played around with ICACLS and stuff but what i really want to know is this:

If i compare the original settings to what i find on the internet they match.
If i compare my security/file settings to his they match.
If i compare my registry settings to his, they match.
Still, what i can't figure out is why on his computer the security warning pops up and on mine they don't.
Why do i have to set things like "Launching applications and unsafe files" to enabled where on my computer i can leave that on prompt and still the message doesn't show on my computer.

So why the difference? Up until know i didn't find any difference to my settings and yet, it i don't change his settings, the problem is still there. What do i miss...?

 

[Brink]

Hello Lange,

You might see if you are able to unblock them to stop the "Open File - Security Warning" message.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/124367-open-file-security-warning-unblock-file.html

Hope this helps for now,
Shawn

 

[Lange]

Hey Brink,

Yeah i know that's an option but that is not what i'm looking for.
I want to know why they have/got this security warning in the first place.
Because right now, i can't find any difference between the 2 systems settings but one of them is suffering from the problem and the other one isn't...

 

[Brink]

You got this warning message for them since they were copied back from an external source. Unblocking them is the only thing that will stop it.

 

[Lange]

Alright...

So when i install Office it comes from an external source (DVD).
Why does it give the warning on my friends computer and not on mine?

Why is it that i have to unblock every exe file before i can run it on my friends computer and not on mine where as far as i can check (and i checked lot's of settings) all security settings, zone settings etc... are the same?

Why did it occur after messing around with moving the user folders on his computer... and how to correct it?

Unblocking every file is not exactly an option if you ask me.

 

[Brink]

Only when you open or move files/folders from an external source in Windows, it'll give you this warning.

 

[Lange]

Can you determine "External Source" then for me?

All the programs i have problems with are Windows Internal programs which are installed when Windows is installed.

A few other examples: Notepad or Windows Media Player give the same security warning when opened directly, either through the link in the startmenu, desktop or taskbar or directly through the exe files.
But, when opening a file that then opens either of these programs, like a regular .txt file for notepad, notepad open without security warning, same goes for mp3's. Click on the mp3, WMP opens without warning, clicking on WMP alone opens with warning.

I also looked into the unblock files link. No solution there either. All files seem to have been unlocked already since i don't have the unlock button on them.

I also tried another thing which add a "unhide file" option to select if you click right on a file. This works for Internet Explorer and Windows Explorere but not for the others. And... it works for programs if those links are on the desktop or startmenu but not if they are pinned to the taskbar...

Disableing the security warning through an elevated command prompt via the ICACLS function doesn't work either...

 

[Brink]

External location is when the files where copied/moved to your computer from any external location.

It does sound like something got messed up when moving the user files.

If you like, you could try this below to completely disable the "Open File Security Warning" to stop them, but doing so does obviously reduce security a bit.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/182353-open-file-security-warning-enable-disable.html

 

[Lange]

Thanks,

I had already stumbled on that link but i'm not keen on using it since it puts the user (read: owner of the computer) at a bigger risk. I wouldn't mind if it was my computer.
There's def something wrong with the user files or the reg settings for that user. Correcting it is another story...

 

[Brink]

May need to do a clean install, but this time use libraries like in the yellow tip box in the tutorial below instead of moving the user folders.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/18629-user-folders-change-default-location.html

 

[KapaKai5O]

Only when you open or move files/folders from an external source in Windows, it'll give you this warning.

Actually I just discovered that isn't the case at all.
I'm having this same problem with .msc admin console files but only when run certain ways.
Ridiculous problem which I've never come across before.

P.S. System is uber clean.
No internet access while installing, and Imaging (the partitions) the entire way.
Tried numerous installs on this system and always experienced this snafu along the way somewhere.
Worse, it doesn't seem to be anything I installed, but the system itself is 'tuning' that problem in somehow.

I've been building and implementing Windoze for decades.
After NT came out I eventually noticed it seemed to 'tune itself' somehow.
For instance, certain win explorer errors that would somehow mysteriously disappear.